Physical Memory Mapping for Hot-Cold Data Segregation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current memory optimization techniques fail to segregate frequently and infrequently accessed data effectively due to page-level mapping in virtual to physical memory, leading to inefficient memory usage and increased footprint.
Innovation Solution
A processor classifies data into hot and cold data based on access frequency, segregating them into different memory regions and mapping hot data to large physical pages and cold data to small physical pages, with the option to disclaim cold data from physical memory to reduce space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If data is mapped at page level in virtual to physical memory, then memory management is simplified, but memory efficiency deteriorates due to inability to segregate hot and cold data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments memory management into two distinct levels: page-level mapping for virtual to physical memory translation (maintaining simplicity) and granular-level segregation within pages to separate hot and cold data (improving efficiency). This allows the system to maintain simplified page-level management while implementing fine-grained control within pages to disclaim cold data and reduce physical memory footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by treating different regions within the same memory page differently based on data characteristics. Hot data and cold data within a page are identified and segregated, with cold data marked for disclaiming. This allows selective optimization of memory usage at the granular level while maintaining uniform page-level management structure.
2Ease of operation
If all data is kept in physical memory pages, then data accessibility is improved, but memory footprint increases due to inclusion of cold data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by proactively identifying and segregating cold data within memory pages before it impacts performance. The system continuously monitors data access patterns, identifies cold data, and marks pages containing cold data for disclaiming, preventing unnecessary memory consumption while ensuring hot data remains readily accessible in physical memory.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies discarding and recovering by selectively disclaiming pages containing cold data to free up physical memory resources. When cold data is identified, the corresponding pages are marked for disclaiming, allowing the system to recover physical memory space while maintaining the ability to reload these pages if needed, thus balancing accessibility with memory footprint reduction.
3Ease of manufacture
If page-level mapping is used without granular control, then implementation simplicity is maintained, but memory optimization capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments memory control into two distinct layers: the mapping layer operates at page level for simplicity, while the optimization layer operates at granular level within pages for optimization capability. This segmentation allows each layer to operate at its optimal granularity without compromising the other, maintaining implementation simplicity while enabling advanced optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism that bridges page-level mapping and granular-level optimization. This intermediary tracks data access patterns at the granular level, identifies hot and cold data, and provides recommendations for page disclaiming, thus enabling optimization capability while maintaining the simplicity of page-level mapping infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for optimizing memory usage. A processor set classifies data stored in virtual memory into hot data and cold data based on frequency of access for the data stored in the virtual memory. The processor set segregates the hot data and the cold data into different memory regions in the virtual memory to generate hot memory regions comprising the hot data and cold memory regions comprising the cold data. The processor set maps the hot memory regions to large physical pages in memory pages of physical memory and the cold memory regions to small physical pages in the memory pages. The processor set disclaims data in the cold memory regions from the memory pages of physical memory to reduce memory space used in the physical memory.